a final report on Costa rica

Thank you for patience if you are a regular reader of my blog. Normal sailing related posts will resume as this is the last of our Costa Rica blog entries. Although primarily about Arwen and our sailing escapades together, the blog does occasionally feature other things - our travels, our restored motovespa scooter or my little canoe Angharad.

Anyway, as a last post on Costa Rica I thought I would post some tips and thoughts for those who may feel a trip tthat country might be for them. I hope you find them useful tips.

1. driving in Costa Rica - our hire company was SIXT and the vehicle was a Hyundai Tuscon. It was an excellent four wheel drive and coped with all the gravel roads and river crossings we made. be aware that it is an SUV and for very adventurous off road stuff - go for a Toyota land cruiser type car. carry your passport, insurance and hire documentation at all times whilst driving. Wear seat belts and keep to the national speed limits, especially those outside schools - others may break it but the Police will stop you if they see you do it. Don't pay fines to the transport police - pay them to your rental company and they can sort it. Don't leave any valuables or clothing in the car under any circumstances. Put them in the boot before you start your journey. Petrol stations are attendant operated - check that the pumps are zero'd before they start pumping gas; give a 1$ tip - it is really appreciated. Avoid overtaking if you can - go with the flow - its much more fun and enjoyable. on gravel roads, watch your speed on bends - gravel slides. keep well back from other vehicles to avoid stones and windscreens!! On rivers, get out and check the depth; if you haven't got a land cruiser or equivalent BE CAREFUL - double check the depth visually; check for entry and exit ruts on banks - gives good indication of where the majority of drivers have crossed. I went in slow and kept the rev's up and then gently accelerated out - it seemed to work. be careful in the mountain roads on bends and watch for heavy rutting on inside of bends which slope steeply! Oh and buy a really good large scale map in the UK - the ones the various companies supplied us in Costa Rica for free were too small and next to useless in detail. people sat SatNav is essential - we travelled a 1000 miles, much of it off road and in remote areas and only used the map. Moreover my wife never got us lost, not once - an amazing achievement!
2. cell phone coverage was never a problem. we bought a lebara card in the UK and it worked out fine
3. departure tax - was 29$ and we could pay in cash or card. do it before you queue at check in!!
4. money at ATM's  - we had no problem even in the remotest areas around ostinal in the north west. Almost all the ones we used at banks had security doors; some had individual rooms and all were screened glass from the public in most cases. you could select for Colonnes or US dollars; and you could select English screen instructions if required (which we did).  we distributed money between all four of us and then scattered in on our person between several pockets and also discreet under shirt/blouse money pouches. two of us also had emergency cash in our actual trouser belts (hidden in discrete zip pocket on inside of belt - we purchased two from a local camping store in the UK).
5. safety - on our travels at no time did we encounter any problem and we felt safe at all times, even in the sticks. just do sensible safety practises - don't flash money and valuables; carry only the minimum you need; take local advice; don't travel at night; hire good guides etc.
6. indispensable items - our pop up double bed mosquito net came in handy at three places where we were staying in basic accommodation - just to stop lizards and crickets! Swiss army knife as always; small travel hand 'dry liquid' soap; a washing line with some pegs; travel plug adaptors - three to charge our ipad, phones and camera batteries. Some dry bags - the waterproof roll down and seal expedition types - lightweight and not massive but great for cameras, ipad, and other bits and pieces. We always take a good medical kit with us including a transfusion kit with needles and syringes. Heath care in Costa Rica is excellent but it is a sort of habit carrying it that we have not got out of. Flip flops!! Small travel umbrella - sunshade; better than raincoat in rainforest when raining and stops things dropping on your head! Cheap cag in a bag coats - lightweight, small packing - they do 'sweat' on inside slightly but frankly with humidity in some areas you were damp already!!
7. wildlife tips - get up early. choose good guides - ask around; don't always go with what the hotels recommend - we found going to the national park gates and hiring guides there could at times work out cheaper but phone them in advance. we used a lumix TZ40 digital compact with a x40 zoom and it was fantastic and did most of what we wanted. It needs a small gorilla tripod for close ups and full zoom shots as camera shake cannot be avoided. It doesn't do macro shots so well either so if you want real close ups - find another camera as well - we had another lumix bridge camera which did macros well. bring spare camera batteries. we also invested in cigarette socket chargers and portable battery chargers for iphone, ipad and the lumix camera and gopro camera - worth their weight in gold as you could charge things on long car journeys. Bring plenty of memory cards - they fill faster than you think. try to look for unusual angles to shot wildlife - crouch down with upwards perspective; different side angles. we often just shoot things standing up and face on - we tried (and failed but it was fun) to be imaginative in how we photographed. however, none of us are photographers - so it didn't always work!! we did use a grid on our viewfinder which helped enormously to frame things.

Hope all this helps folks. It is a country which is well worth exploring. Don't be afraid to self drive but research it well first. use a company to help you set out the itinerary - we used Pura Aventura here in UK and their on the ground partners were Costa Rican Tours. Their advice, instructions, recommendations and organisation were flawless. We also went in August which is off peak season and just at the start of the rainy season - far less crowded; no queueing and beaches to oneself. didn't rain as much as we were expecting on eastern seaboard - brilliantly hot on western seaboard with odd afternoon thunderstorms.

And that's it folks. Our Costa Rica diaries end here. if you want to know anything else post a comment and if we can give you any tips from our experiences, only happy to help.

All things nautical and particularly things about Arwen, a welsford navigator, will now resume.

Steve